NY YANKEES: HITTING: Despite his decline from mediocrity into downright counter-productivity, SS DEREK JETER gets to hit atop the best lineup in baseball. Off an MVP-caliber season, OF CURTIS GRANDERSON is a true star. His average is mediocre, but his power is elite and the Yankees are letting him run when on base. After two years with a sub-.260 average, 1B MARK TEIXEIRA's talent seems to be fading. He still puts up huge power numbers playing in a bandbox. Coming off knee and thumb injuries, 3B ALEX RODRIGUEZ is a serious injury risk hitting in the middle of this lineup. 2B ROBINSON CANO will once again see as many RBI chances as anyone. He's been great in those situations the past two seasons. OFs NICK SWISHER and BRETT GARDNER offer power and SBs, respectively, though the Yankees may look to upgrade if they continue to post lackluster numbers. C RUSSELL MARTIN will get plenty of playing time now that Jesus Montero is in Seattle. Veteran slugger RAUL IBANEZ is the new DH in town, and will love hitting towards the short porch in right at Yankee Stadium. STARTING PITCHING: CC SABATHIA struggled late last year and has logged a ridiculous number of innings over the past five years. He's a top-10 starter in the majors, but is starting to pass his prime. Newcomers HIROKI KURODA and MICHAEL PINEDA will both stabilize what was a shaky rotation last year. Kuroda, 37, posted a 3.07 ERA with the Dodgers and the 23-year-old Pineda has unlimited upside, fanning 173 batters in 171 innings with Seattle last season. IVAN NOVA benefitted from nearly nine runs of support per game. He keeps the ball down often enough to thrive in the Bronx, just without many strikeouts. PHIL HUGHES' stuff has regressed greatly since his days as a top prospect. He's trying to overcome conditioning problems this offseason. MANNY BANUELOS and DELLIN BETANCES are great prospects who may get a chance to start MLB games later this season. RELIEF PITCHING: Trust MARIANO RIVERA to stay dominant until proven wrong. He was better in 2011 than he was in 2010 despite some velocity slippage. DAVID ROBERTSON has a firm hold on eighth-inning duties after an All-Star season. He's second in line for saves. RAFAEL SORIANO wasn't a total bust, as he did just fine after a rough April. He's settled into the seventh-inning role since Robertson is more trusted that he is. After Tommy John surgery, JOBA CHAMBERLAIN is aiming to be back this June. Middle reliever CORY WADE was reliable last year, and has a chance to rack up some vulture wins if he keeps going strong.

BALTIMORE: HITTING: The leadoff spot is 2B BRIAN ROBERTS' if he can stay on the field. His recent injury history is very troubling, though his talent makes him a risk worth taking. 2B ROBERT ANDINO and 2B RYAN ADAMS would compete for time if Roberts is out. The O's best hitter last year was arguably SS J.J. HARDY. He was healthy for the first time in years and flexed his legit 30-HR power. If Roberts and Hardy stay healthy, OF NICK MARKAKIS will likely hit third and see an increase in RBI chances. OF ADAM JONES seems to have the highest ceiling of any Baltimore hitter. 3B MARK REYNOLDS will probably end up at 1B. His horrendous average cancels out some of his 40-HR potential. OF NOLAN REIMOLD revived his MLB career with an impressive end of the season. He's got a shot to start in left. 1B CHRIS DAVIS is a candidate to start at first, third or DH as sort of a Junior Mark Reynolds. C MATT WIETERS is already one of the best two-way backstops in baseball at age 25.

STARTING PITCHING: WEI-YIN CHEN pitched well enough in Japan (2.48 ERA, 1.06 WHIP in past four seasons) to become the de-facto ace of this horrible pitching staff. JAKE ARRIETA is a mediocre talent, but is good enough to secure a spot as a Baltimore starter. JASON HAMMEL hopes the switch from Coors Field will help lower his career ERA of 4.99. The highest-risk, highest-potential O's pitcher may be BRIAN MATUSZ. His 2011 line is frightening (10.69 ERA, 2.11 WHIP), but he has the raw skills and pitch repertoire to turn it around. TOMMY HUNTER came over from Texas midseason and should round out the rotation. RELIEF PITCHING: There was talk of JIM JOHNSON being converted into a starter, but he'll open the season as the team's closer. Johnson established himself as the O's best option to close after going 7-for-7 in that role last September. KEVIN GREGG would step in as the ninth-inning man if Johnson falters. He was unstable in that role last year. Gregg is a trade candidate this midseason, in which case he'd probably end up a set-up man elsewhere. Flame-throwing MATT LINDSTROM is a darkhorse for saves. He saved 23 games for Houston in 2010 before being used as a set-up man in Colorado last year. TSUYOSHI WADA brings his finesse game from Japan. He's a heady hurler who hides the ball well, but he's in for a rude awakening in the A.L. East. BRAD BERGESEN and CHRIS JAKUBAUSKAS are long relievers who may get bumped into the rotation if the young Baltimore SPs struggle again.

The Baltimore Orioles are enjoying their longest home win streak over the New York Yankees in 30 years, and there may be added incentive for both teams as their four-game set continues.

The confrontation between managers Buck Showalter and Joe Girardi was the story of the series opener, and the Orioles will look to make it seven straight at home over the Yankees on Tuesday night.

Baltimore (77-66) started this critical series with a 4-2 win Monday, and is on its longest run at home over New York since winning 10 in a row at Memorial Stadium from 1981-83.

The Orioles and Cleveland are both 1 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay for the AL's second wild card while the Yankees (76-68) fell three games back with their fourth loss in five games.

The pressure of the pennant race was evident Monday. Both dugouts emptied briefly after the first inning, when Showalter angrily exchanged words with Girardi after the Yankees manager yelled at Baltimore third base coach Bobby Dickerson, accusing him of stealing signs. Showalter had to be restrained by home plate umpire Ed Hickox as he charged onto the field.

"Two competitive good teams and we're fighting for the same thing, so there's a small margin for error. ... But Bobby's not giving pitches," Showalter said.

Girardi did not divulge details about the incident.

"The one thing that I've done, the whole time that I'm here, and everywhere I've been, is I'm going to protect our players at all lengths," Girardi said. "That's what I'm going to do, and there was something that I saw and I'm just going to leave it at that."

The Orioles may like their chances of maintaining their streak over the Yankees since they are 9-2 at home when they start Miguel Gonzalez (9-7, 3.98 ERA), who gets the ball Tuesday.

Gonzalez is 6-2 with a 3.80 ERA at home as a starter, earning his first victory since July 20 by limiting the White Sox to one run over seven innings in a 3-1 win Thursday.

The right-hander, however, is 0-2 with a 4.70 ERA in four starts against the Yankees this year. Robinson Cano is 2 for 15 against him all-time, but Ichiro Suzuki is 4 for 13 with two homers and a double.

The Yankees will start Ivan Nova (8-4, 3.02), who is 4-0 with a 2.47 ERA in his last seven outings. New York won the first six of that span before the right-hander gave up four runs in four innings in Thursday's 9-8, 10-inning loss to Boston.

Nova's previous start was a two-hitter for his first career shutout in a 2-0 victory over Baltimore on Aug. 31. He also went the distance with a three-hitter and season-high 11 strikeouts in his other 2013 start versus the Orioles, a 3-2 victory July 5.

Adam Jones is 0 for 10 against Nova this year, Manny Machado is 1 for 11 and Chris Davis is 1 for 7 with a homer.

The Orioles who have fared better are Nick Markakis (3 for 10) and Matt Wieters (3 for 7). Markakis had three hits Monday after going 5 for 32 in his previous nine games.

Alex Rodriguez and Lyle Overbay homered Monday for New York. Overbay, however, is hitless in seven 2013 at-bats versus Gonzalez.

Girardi said that Derek Jeter (ankle) remains day to day while relievers David Robertson and Boone Logan remain unavailable Tuesday.

Baltimore needs one victory in the final three games of this set to win a season series against New York for the first time since 1997.